I'm off again!

So here we are once more, you may have come across this blog through one on the links out there on various websites, or, and most likely, the fact that I sent you a link inviting you to have a look to see what madcap plan I have embarked on again.

The plan is made and the time is nigh. Actually this is plan B. Plan A was to ride up the west coast of Scotland, Gretna to Cape Wrath, round all the crinkly bits. Lovely yes, but potentially very wet and windy for a week, and Denise would be sat there in the car waiting for me with two dogs and the mother-in-lawn with not much else to do but breath in the smell of two wet dogs whilst wiping condensation from the windows. This plan will need to be revisited in the form of staying in a cottage with bike and going out on a bike ride for a couple of days.

 

Plan B then came into operation. I am going to cycle to Scotland whilst Denise and entourage follow, drive on ahead and wait at National Trust type places. They have somewhere warm to wait for me, and can mist up the car with cups of tea and stuff.

 

It isn’t really that far to Scotland, or Pirlochry in fact, so the route is a somewhat of a wiggle up the country. The challenge is to ride 100miles or more daily for 8 days, so I will in fact be cycling the equivalent of Land’s End to John O’Groats, but cutting out the hilly bit of Cornwall and Devon, and going somewhere different. I will be cutting across the SEWN up ride a couple of time and plan to stay in the same B&Bs twice. Mostly though it is totally new roads, and one day that may well be epic (for epic read painful) in the northern Pennines.

 

Yes, I feel grossly unprepared, but I’ll be fine once I get into the rhythm of 7 to 8 hour days of cycling, or grinding it out as it is likely to become.

 

There is no intention to take any money off of anyone this time, but will be accompanied again by a bee, who may well feature on the pics. As some car drivers are not that kind to cyclists, and L E Bee will be riding shot gun in the car, with me on the bike will be his dangerous cousin, Hepatitis B.

 

So Saturday morning the flag will drop and I will wander off up the back lane, join me sometime Saturday evening (wifi permitting) to see how the day went, and where I’ve been.

 

Thank you.

 

Greg